We Help Parents and Carers Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

Reporting abuse

Support and Services - Reporting Abuse

If you are worried about someone's behaviour towards a child, which leads you to suspect they may be abusing or exploiting that child, you must take action. You should do one or all of the following:

Contact your local police

Contact your local Children's Social Services

Make a report online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre

Contact the Stop It Now! helpline

Contact the NSPCC helpline

Local Police

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. If not, all police forces have other ways in which you can get in touch, including a non-emergency phone number which you will find in a telephone directory or online. Calling 101 will direct you to your local police force. An automated system will lead you to someone who can direct you to the appropriate department. You can get in contact with your local neighbourhood police team. Visit your local police force website for details or go to direct.gov.uk and search for 'police'.

Children's Social Services

You can also get in touch with your local Children's Social Services and contact details will be found online or through local telephone directories.

Contact the CEOP Centre

The CEOP centre CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) is the UK's national police agency set up to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation. If you are worried about someone's inappropriate behaviour towards a child, either online or offline, you can report this at ceop.police.uk.

This is a confidential helpline for adults who are worried about the sexual behaviour of another individual towards children. It is also designed for individuals who are concerned about their own sexual thoughts or behaviour towards children. In addition the Helpline deals with parents and carers worried about the sexual behaviour of children and young people. The helpline operates from 9am-9pm Monday-Thursday and from 9am-5pm on Friday. Stop It Now! it also provides help via anonymous email here, with a response in 5-7 working days. More information can also be found on stopitnow.org.uk.